U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,261, Kanzler et al., teaches a fluent material dispensing apparatus having a hopper for receiving and holding fluent material. As used herein, "fluent material" means material which flows or is capable of flowing and is made up of relatively small particles, such as powders, sand, gravel, rocks, pebbles, dirt, soil, limestone wastes, cement, grain, fertilizer or any other granular or powdery material. The invention taught in the '261 patent relies on gravity as a means to dispense the fluent material in the hopper. The invention of the '261 patent has the disadvantage of not working at optimal efficiency when the fluent material is wet, in which case the material often becomes clogged in the discharge openings at the bottom of the hopper. U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,318, Kanzler et al., teaches an improvement to the '261 patent. The '318 patent includes a rotatable auger that moves the fluent material over the discharge openings thereby improving the efficiency of the invention by breaking up wet fluent material.
This invention teaches improvements on the '318 and '261 patents. In particular, the invention teaches an apparatus having an agitator, which churns the fluent material to allow it more readily to pass through the discharge openings. When used in addition to the auger taught by the '261 patent, the apparatus' efficiency is greatly increased. The agitator shaft is centrally located in the hopper and rotates to insure a steady flow of material to the auger and discharge chutes. The auger rotates to direct the filler material toward the discharge chutes. The rotation of the auger maintains an even flow of filler material through the discharge chutes. The invention also teaches the utilization of a means to drive the agitator. One embodiment of the power means comprises of an engine or motor connected to a hydraulic pump and hydraulic motor system, and a means to control the three states of the agitator, clockwise rotation, counter-clockwise rotation and no rotation. The power means may drive both the auger and agitator in an harmonious fashion to further increase the apparatus' efficiency. Finally, the invention also teaches a grid covering the top of the hopper to reduce the possibility of injury to users of the invention.
Although, other material handling devices are well known, such conventional equipment requires extensive material transmission apparatus and is not readily portable or self-contained. Furthermore, other material handling devices similar to the present invention do not teach a portable and efficient, power-drive mechanism for rotating an auger and agitator to increase the efficiency of moving fluent material to the discharge openings so that blockages are eliminated and fluent material flows constantly to the discharge openings.